TERM: Trade Exposure & Risk Management

Most importers know they’re paying tariffs. Fewer know how much they’ve overpaid, where that exposure is concentrated, or that recovering it depends on deadlines that don’t move. Navco’s Trade Exposure & Risk Management program — TERM — closes that gap: a data-driven system that identifies what you’re owed, preserves your right to recover it, and executes the filings before the window closes.

What Is TERM?

TERM is Navco’s proprietary advisory and execution program. It helps importers identify tariff exposure, preserve and pursue recovery opportunities, implement proactive duty-mitigation strategies, and align customs activity with logistics and financial objectives — a continuous decision-making framework, not a one-time review.

Tariff Refunds Are Not Automatic

When a classification is under legal challenge or exclusion proceedings, it’s easy to assume a refund will be issued automatically once a decision comes down. It won’t. Importers have fixed windows to file post summary corrections, protests, reconciliation entries, and drawback claims — miss the deadline on an entry, and the refund right is gone regardless of what a court or agency later decides.

For importers paying significant annual duties under Section 301 or Section 232, that’s active financial exposure requiring a structured response, not a wait-and-see approach.

What TERM Delivers

1. Exposure Identification — Understand where duties are being paid and why.
2. Recovery & Preservation — Execute refund opportunities before rights lapse.
3. Strategic Optimization — Reduce or defer duties proactively.
4. Execution — Implemented through Navco’s brokerage, bonded, and logistics network.
5. Ongoing Management — Continuous monitoring and improvement.

Navco’s Six-Phase TERM Framework

1. Data Extraction — Consolidate ACE entry data into one accurate view of import activity.
2. Exposure Analysis — Identify what’s driving cost and where opportunity exists.
3. Strategy Mapping — Flag entries eligible for recovery before deadlines close.
4. Optimization Design — Build practical strategies to reduce or defer duties.
5. Execution — Implement through Navco’s brokerage, bonded, FTZ, and logistics operations.
6. Ongoing Reporting — Monitor and refine as trade conditions change.

Recovery Tools Used Under TERM

TERM coordinates every applicable recovery and preservation mechanism, applied based on entry status, timing, and recovery value:

Tool	What It Does	When It Applies
Post Summary Correction (PSC)	Corrects certain material aspects of an entry before liquidation	Unliquidated entries only
Protest	Formal challenge to a CBP liquidation decision	Within 180 days of liquidation — no extensions or exceptions
Reconciliation	Corrects value, assists, and similar elements after liquidation	Flagged entries only — bonded entries not eligible
Duty Drawback	Recovers up to 99% of duties on goods later exported or destroyed	Subject to eligibility and tracing requirements
Section 301 Exclusion Refunds	Recovers duties on goods later granted a Section 301 exclusion	Entries under subsequently excluded classifications

Who Should Be in a TERM Engagement

TERM is most relevant for companies that meet one or more of the following:

• Pay $500,000 or more annually in Section 301 or Section 232 duties
• Import classifications currently under legal challenge or regulatory review
• Haven’t reviewed PSC or protest eligibility in the past two years
• Export or destroy imported goods and haven’t filed for duty drawback
• Operate under first sale or related-party pricing structures

For these companies, TERM isn’t an optional compliance exercise — it’s deadline management with direct financial consequences, and the clock is already running on entries already in the system.

Why Navco for TERM

Navco is a licensed U.S. Customs broker with direct access to ACE data and 30+ years managing tariff classifications, duty payments, and post-entry filings. TERM was built because the same pattern repeats across importer after importer: real refund eligibility, expiring deadlines, and no structured process to act on either.

Where applicable, TERM engagements are structured on a contingency basis — Navco’s fee is tied to what’s recovered, not billable hours, so there’s no upfront cost for the recovery component of the program.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does TERM stand for?
Trade Exposure & Risk Management — Navco’s proprietary program for identifying tariff exposure, preserving refund rights, and executing recovery and duty-mitigation strategies across an importer’s entry history.

Is TERM the same as duty drawback?
No. Duty drawback is one recovery tool TERM manages. TERM is the broader framework that identifies exposure and coordinates every applicable mechanism — PSCs, protests, reconciliation, drawback, and Section 301 exclusion refunds.

What does a TERM engagement cost?
Where applicable, TERM is structured on a contingency basis — Navco’s fee is tied to results, not billable hours. There’s no upfront cost for the recovery component.

How much do I need to be paying in duties to qualify?
There’s no single cutoff. TERM is built for importers with meaningful ongoing duty exposure — companies paying significant annual duties under Section 301 or Section 232 are the clearest fit. A TERM consultation reviews your entry history to confirm eligibility.

Does TERM only apply if my tariff classification is under legal challenge?
No. Active exclusion proceedings are a common trigger, but TERM applies to any importer’s entry history — reviewing eligibility for post summary corrections, protests, reconciliation, and drawback regardless of whether a classification is currently in dispute.